Blue Line Banter

On this episode of Blue Line Banter I am joined by Wade Minter, the Public Address Announcer for the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.  Our discussion covered Wade’s background growing up in Southside Virginia, his early experience as a PA announcer, how he got the opportunity with the Carolina Hurricanes, and the many ways in which he has given back to the community through his involvement with the Canes Foundation.  We then went into questions from Canes Twitter, some amazing stories including a behind the scenes look at his gameday routine, a memorable goal he scored during the Canes Alumni charity game, and many other hilarious stories straight from his office at PNC Arena – which is directly next to the visiting teams penalty box.  This was such a great talk and I hope you enjoy the stories and conversation that I was fortunate to have with Wade Minter.

On this episode of Blue Line Banter I am joined by Vladan Chase, host of the Never Far From Home podcast, one of the leading and fastest growing podcasts in all of hockey.  Our discussion covered Vladan’s early days growing up in Steamboat Springs, how he fell in love with the game, his family and siblings, a very fine tequila by the name of Dano’s, some stories from his playing days, and how his podcast isn’t really just a podcast, but also a journey and adventure that will take him to all 50 states over the next several years interviewing and meeting some of the most interesting individuals from all corners of the hockey universe, or community of the rink as he likes to call it.  Thanks for tuning in!

On this episode of Blue Line Banter I am joined by Chuck Norris, owner of the Fayetteville Marksmen, a veteran-owned and operated professional hockey team competing in the most elite independent hockey league in the United States, the Southern Professional Hockey League.  Our discussion covered Chuck’s background and early days attending Detroit Red Wings games with his father, lessons learned as a member of the 3rd Special Forces Group and Paratrooper in the United States Army, the importance of doing things the right way, and his purchase of the Fayetteville Marksmen in April of 2017.  Chuck Norris is the kind of guy you want leading you into battle and certainly someone I would never bet against.  He had me ready to run through a couple brick walls after our discussion and I hope you find the conversation as inspiring as I did.  Thanks for tuning in.

On this episode of Blue Line Banter I am joined by Taylor Marchin of the NWHL’s Connecticut Whale.  Prior to joining the Whale, Taylor spent time playing professionally in China and was also a member of the Yale Women’s Ice Hockey Team.  Our discussion covered Taylor’s early years growing up on Lake Saint Clair, a story of resilience and toughness that led to her attending Yale University, the heart Taylor showed during her college career not missing a single game - playing in 123 straight, and the upcoming National Women’s Hockey League season and 2021 Isobel Cup Playoffs which will be held at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid.  Taylor’s hockey and life journey really inspired me and I have a feeling the best is still yet to come for Taylor Marchin.  I hope you enjoy the show.

On this episode of Blue Line Banter I am joined by the legendary ice hockey coach Bill Beaney.  Coach Beaney led the Middlebury College men’s ice hockey team to 8 NCAA National Championships including five straight from 1995-1999.  Our discussion covered lessons learned from his college coach and mentor Charlie Holt, the importance of small area games in practice, his overall coaching philosophy, and of course the epic National Championship run in the late 90s. Coach Bill Beaney is one of the winningest ice hockey coaches in NCAA history and I’ll always remember the wisdom he shared with me during our talk together.

On this episode of Blue Line Banter I am joined by Shane Willis, Head of Youth and Amateur Hockey for the Carolina Hurricanes.  Prior to his current role with the Hurricanes, Shane spent over a decade playing professional hockey and made his NHL debut for the Carolina Hurricanes in 1998 while enjoying a career high 20 goals and 24 assists in the 2000-2001 season.  Our discussion covered Shane’s early days playing youth hockey in Sylvan Lake, the current state of youth hockey in North Carolina including the gold standard Hurricanes First Goal program, the meaning of “Earn It”, what makes Rod Brind’Amour so special, and the unique friendship he shares with many of his colleagues including Tripp Tracy otherwise known as Tripper, Mike Maniscalco otherwise known as Big Rig, and the awesome Abby Labar. This conversation with Shane was such a great time and I really hope you enjoy it. 

On this episode of Blue Line Banter I am joined by David Hoffman, Owner of Hertz Arena and the ECHL’s Florida Everblades located just outside of Naples, FL in Estero.  Our discussion covered David’s recent purchase of the Florida Everblades from Peter Karmanos, his passion for the Naples community, the upgrades and improvements him and his team have made to Hertz Arena, the friendship he shares with GM Craig Brush, and David also shared a heartfelt story about his grandson and how the hockey universe created a lasting memory for him.  I had such an awesome time talking with David and I hope you enjoy the discussion.

On this episode of Blue Line Banter I am joined by Roger Grillo, with USA Hockey.  Roger joined USA Hockey in 2009 having spent the previous 12 years as head coach of Brown University’s men’s ice hockey team.  His tenure at Brown was highlighted by a Final Four appearance in 2003.  Prior to coaching, Roger was a member of the University of Maine hockey team for two seasons and was a NHL 10th round draft choice of the Vancouver Canucks.  Our discussion covered Roger’s path from player to coach, his perspectives on developing youth hockey players, and we also went into some commonly debated topics in youth hockey such as full ice v. half ice/cross ice.

On this episode of Blue Line Banter I am joined by Neil Conway, Owner of Conway Goaltending and Founder of Easy Crease which is an innovative ice hockey training product designed to mark a crease anywhere a goal is positioned during hockey training sessions.  Neil’s playing career spanned over two decades including his time spent with USA Hockey at the U17 and U18 level, along with 5 seasons playing in the OHL, and he also took home a National Championship while playing at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Our discussion covered Neil’s playing days, the evolution of youth goalie development, coaching at the NCAA D1 Level, the unique aspects of being a hockey goalie, and we finished up with Neil sharing a story about one of his favorite hockey memories.

Ryan Minkoff is the founder and owner of 83, LLC, a global ice hockey agency representing players at the junior, college, and professional level.  Ryan is a graduate of the University of Washington, where he became the first player from that school to play pro hockey.

In this conversation we discuss his rollercoaster path from youth hockey in Minnesota, to club hockey at UW, all the way up to making it at the pro level.  We also covered the release of his new book titled 'Thin Ice' which chronicles his inspirational hockey journey from unknown to elite.